Dear Readers: After running a hint about using a CARABINER and then a follow-up on what one is, many of you wrote with favorite uses. Here are just a few hints you shared:

* Sally, via email, wrote, “My husband and I each have one attached to a water bottle, to clip onto belts or my purse when hiking or shopping.”

* Sue in Arkansas wrote, “When traveling overseas, or when walking around anywhere in large crowds where pickpockets might prowl, I attach a carabiner to one of the metal rings on my purse and then also through the hole in the zipper pull.”

* Terry, via e-mail, wrote: “I use them for key chains. They are easy to get the keys on and off of, and can be clipped to either a purse strap or belt loop for easy access.”

* Karen in Arkansas wrote, “I use a carabiner on my purse and attach it to the shopping cart so it cannot be grabbed out quickly.” (Heloise here: This does work to secure your purse, but please be aware that a thief could reach inside and still grab your wallet!)

* A Reader, via e-mail, wrote: “I use a carabiner to attach my locker key to the strap of my bathing suit. Leave it on and never get locked out.”

All of these are great hints! Keep them coming. -- Heloise

SEND A GREAT HINT TO:

Heloise

P.O. Box 795000

San Antonio, TX 78279-5000

Fax: 1-210-HELOISE

E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com

PHOTOGRAPHY CHARGE

Dear Heloise: Do you know why photographers charge so much for digital copies of images on CDs? -- Heather, via e-mail

Heather, you aren’t really paying for the CD itself; you are paying for the right to use the photographer’s images that he or she took. It’s the photographer’s time and effort. He or she usually “owns” the pictures taken, depending on the original agreement or contract. -- Heloise

SORT-N-SIFT

Dear Heloise: I am very sentimental, and I have a hard time getting rid of my toddler son’s clothes. I have developed a system that has helped me. I go through his clothes and separate into two piles: stuff I want to get rid of, and stuff I want to keep. I box up the stuff I want to keep and donate the rest. Three months later, I bring the box out and go through it again. I have found that after some time has gone by, I am able to pass on more and only keep what is really important to me. -- Julia in Pennsylvania

PURCHASE RECEIPT

Dear Heloise: Whenever I purchase a gift card, I always enclose a receipt with it. I once gave one to my friend, and when she tried to use it, she was told that it was not good. Thankfully, I had the receipt, and the store issued a new one. I was glad I didn’t lose the money I’d spent on it. -- Taylor in Fort Worth, Tex.

Send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. Please include your city and state.

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Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.